Skin Burst?

[NapierA]

Hey Guys,

first a little background. I have 2 Albino Darwins, both about 9 months old. I fed them both tonight on Weiners which is what they have been eating for 2 Months or so now. The male had no problems but when I went to check on my female to my dismay she appeared to have torn herself open with blood and all.

Now the mouse I fed her was in no way too large for her, In fact if anything it may have been a little smaller than what I normally feed her and this has never happened before. It had passed through her into her stomach as was visible by her lump. As you can imagine I was quite disturbed to see some of her innards pertruding through her skin about 2.5 inches back from her head (granted this is probably her skinniest area). After frantically searching the internet for 45 minutes I found nothing regarding this. I returned to her cage fearing the worst, however when I looked at her all was well. No more pertruding parts or anything.

Now I am no expert but this could not be normal could it? Can anyone elaborate as to the issue and how to rectify it so it does not happen again.

 

[thefridge71]

Maybe the mouse/rat burst through her squeezing it, the innards you saw were the mouses? She may have washed them off in the water bowl or something, have a look around the enclosure for them. Other than that I have no further advice. Just a thought.

Tom

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Clean the snake up and check that it isn't mouse guts that have been exposed and bypassed the mouth. The most likely explanation...

Jamie

 

[snakelady96]

Hmm never heard of this happening... I agree with the others check the mouse hasnt just exploded from being squeezed, if it is the snake take it to the vet ASAP! Keep us all posted

 

[Fantazmic]

are you saying that there was a tear and snake innards protruding and then the tear and snake innards disappeared ? I am confused

 

[NapierA]

Yeah guys I have since cleaned her up and it appears that she has cut herself open on something (the isn't anything sharp in her cage so not sure what) and it indeed was muscle protruding from her skin. I have cleaned the cut and taken her to a vet who was perplexed himself. Advice I have received has been to give her time to heal before feeding again and keep her clean

 

[ozziepythons]

Hey mate, what you have witnessed is not uncommon with albino carpet juvies. Their skin and scales are not as strong as a normal snake and can tear. More often this is seen when a non-feeding specimen is force fed and the snake splits open where pressure and force are applied. Best thing is to indeed let her heal over a couple of months and just feed her much smaller mice.

 

[mysnakesau]

When thawing food for your snake, be careful that you aren't using boiling water. Hottest from the tap is fine, but boiling water will cook the mouse and the bones can have splintering effect, just like for a dog eating cooked bones. I am presuming this isn't what happened, but just a thought to keep in mind.

I'd be careful about soaking her in water while she has an open wound. Water can get in under the scales and if it can't drain away can cause infection. So if her water bowl is large enough for her to get into, I'd be swapping that for a small one for now, until the wound has healed.

 

[Kimberlyann]

Same thing happened to one of my babies, unfortuanly i lost it, please take it to your vet as soon as you can

 

[Helikaon]

If it were mine and the skin had split i would have it stitched. the oesophogeal lining is pretty much connected to the skin so if the skin is torn then the oesophogeal lining could be split also. (thats if it happened while feeding) Up to you though

 

[NapierA]

The vet didn't even give me the option of stitching! It's good to know it does happen! I'm hoping she will be ok I'm going to keep a close eye on her for sure

 

[graphitebeans]

Best wishes for your little one! I don't have any advise, but it's just so awful I wanted to let you know my heart goes out to you!

 

[Fantazmic]

what a shock for you
fingers crossed everything wil be ok

 

[Ramsayi]

That is not something that would/could be considered common with any type of carpet,maybe a claw from the mouse punctured the skin which proceeded into a tear?

Hey mate, what you have witnessed is not uncommon with albino carpet juvies. Their skin and scales are not as strong as a normal snake and can tear. More often this is seen when a non-feeding specimen is force fed and the snake splits open where pressure and force are applied. Best thing is to indeed let her heal over a couple of months and just feed her much smaller mice.

I have bred quite a few albinos over the years and have never come across anything like that before.If it happens when force feeding then it would be time to have a look at modifying the method you are using.

 

[Bel03]

I hope she is okay! I read this before bed last night, & had the most terrible dreams of it happening to my little princess! I jumped out of bed @ 4am to find her safe & well of course!

 

[spilota_variegata]

Hey mate, what you have witnessed is not uncommon with albino carpet juvies. Their skin and scales are not as strong as a normal snake and can tear. More often this is seen when a non-feeding specimen is force fed and the snake splits open where pressure and force are applied. Best thing is to indeed let her heal over a couple of months and just feed her much smaller mice.

If this is an accurate statement - and I have no reason to doubt ozziepython - this will be something that albino breeders are very unlikely to verify. The last thing albino breeders are going to do is undermine the price of albino pythons - currently around 1000% greater than their normal counterparts.

 

[orientalis]

ozziepythons......what do you base your statement on?
I have experience with over 134 albino's and have never had one do this.
I have never had to force feed one either

Value aside, if these absloutely stunning beauties had this issue spilota_variegata, i would definately not breed and develope them.

I believe this to be a one off event....

 

[TigerCoastal]

There is a thread somewhere on here where force feeding caused something similar, it did have pics showing the injury sewn up and it was an albino. Its always something that i am worried about when i upsize my snakes feed, i've seen the rats teeth get caught on the snakes lips and almost rip the mouth open. Hope your snake is ok

 

[ozziepythons]

Again we have keepers with a corner of experience with a species and think they are entitled to null and void obervations and conclusions other keepers draw from while working with the same species. I don't care if you have bred 1000 albino carpets and think that all there is to know is confined to the limits of your husbandry experience.
What have I based my former statement on that juvenile albino carpets can tear and split due to delicate skin? As a trained scientist I always base my conclusions on OBSERVATION. I have worked with these pythons at all life stages (in a professional capacity, not as a hobby) and can tell you that as juveniles they are more delicate. Not only have they been known to tear open over forced food or very large prey items but that they are also more susceptible to dehydration due to their condition. Again this is based upon OBSERVATION. I have not ever force fed an albino and torn it open as someone previously seems to have assumed, but I work and collaborate with other herpetologists and their experiences are shared with me and this is indeed something that happens. Hence the OBSERVATION that is the reason for this thread.

 

[NapierA]

Thanks for all the help guys, it's a very strange occurrence indeed! As I said she is a great feeder, and has taken bigger mice in the past! She seems to be going well and the damage is minimal. I'm still keeping an eye on her but all appears well. I'm hoping that after her shed she will be ok as there doesn't appear to be any scars appearing on her skin